


Give Me a Chance

by SocialDegenerate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bakery, Developing Relationship, Florists, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 15:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13056966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SocialDegenerate/pseuds/SocialDegenerate
Summary: Ignis, a baker, has a very important question to ask the florist from the shop across the street.His breath catching at the sight of Gladiolus in a tight shirt and an apron, with his hair half pulled into a bun and a streak of dirt on his cheek, Ignis could only wonder if he was going to faint before he remembered how to make his lungs work.





	Give Me a Chance

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a swap with the wonderful [pending_url](https://twitter.com/pending_url), for her gorgeous Baker/Florist AU. Enjoy the fluff!

Readjusting his grip on the box in his hands and telling himself that he _wasn’t_ actually as nervous as he felt, Ignis squared his shoulders and pushed through the front door of his bakery.

At least traffic was light as he walked across the road, because he was vaguely worried that any time spent waiting would lead to him talking himself into retreating back to his sanctuary. He’d already wasted enough time going in circles around his decision, and _this time_ he wasn’t going to back out.

As it was, Iris was outside her father’s store and spotted him as soon as he stepped onto the opposite footpath from between two parked cars, not giving him a chance to retreat as she waved at him. “Hi, Iggy!”

“Iris, how are you?” Ignis greeted her back, unable to stop himself from smiling despite the nausea rolling in his gut. Iris had been the first member of the Amicitia family to befriend him after he’d begun managing the bakery, her cheerful demeanour winning him over the first time she’d appeared to buy breakfast for her father and brother.

“Great!” Iris grinned, straightening up from where she was fixing the display outside the flower shop. Clasping her hands behind her back and bouncing on the balls of her feet, she tilted her head a little as she noticed the box in Ignis’ hands. “What’s that?”

“Oh,” Ignis stumbled, clearing his throat and shifting the box to one hand so that he could adjust his glasses a little. “It’s for...Is Gladiolus inside?”

Frowning, Iris planted her hands on her hips and looked up at Ignis. “Did he ask you to deliver again? You should tell him to get off his lazy butt and walk across the road.”

Fiddling with his collar, the clean shirt one he _definitely_ hadn’t changed into just to walk across the road, Ignis willed his expression to stay normal. “Ah, no, it’s nothing like that, and I don’t mind coming over, I promise…”

Aware he was babbling and cursing himself for losing his composure, Ignis took a steadying breath and smiled. “He didn’t order anything, I simply had some extra stock and decided to share it with my favourite flower family.”

“Iggy, you gotta marry me. I’ll never find anyone as perfect as you,” Iris said seriously, surprising a laugh out of Ignis.

“I think your father would murder me if I didn’t at least let you finish high school,” he replied, proud of the way he’d apparently managed to wrench back some of his normal charm. Iris also happened to be the wrong Amicitia for Ignis’ tastes, but there was no reason for him to mention that.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Iris sighed dramatically, and Ignis couldn’t help but open the box in his hands.

“Will this make you feel better?”

“Yep,” Iris grinned, taking a cupcake. “Thanks, Iggy! Gladdy’s inside, probably mangling a bouquet.”

“You’re welcome,” Ignis said warmly, his nerves beginning to act up again as he stared down the front door of the flower shop. He could feel Iris watching him and so he forced himself to move, pushing the door open and stepping inside. The bell attached to the door rang through the otherwise quiet store, and Ignis heard Gladiolus before he saw him.

“Hi, sorry! I’ll be with you in a moment!” Turning in the direction of the store room, where Ignis thought Gladiolus’ voice had come from, he forced himself to _relax_ as he waited for Gladiolus to appear.

Of course, that went out the window when Gladiolus stepped out from the back, his customer service smile melting into a genuine one when he saw who had come into the shop. “Iggy!”

His breath catching at the sight of Gladiolus in a tight shirt and an apron, with his hair half pulled into a bun and a streak of dirt on his cheek, Ignis could only wonder if he was going to faint before he remembered how to make his lungs work. Thankfully it didn’t quite come to that, but he was fairly certain that it was a close thing.

“What brings you over here?” Gladiolus asked, pulling a cloth from his apron to wipe his hands and settling back against the counter. Drawn towards him, Ignis walked further into the store while remembering the box in his hands and shoving it forwards.

“Here.”

“What’ve you got there?” Gladiolus asked, taking the box that was almost being pushed into his broad chest. His eyes lit up when he saw the array of treats inside, and he snagged a pastry as he gently sat the box on a clear bit of counter space. “Did Iris order these? How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing,” Ignis managed to say, and Gladiolus tilted his head in an eerily familiar way. “I simply thought I’d bring over some excess stock.”

“Ah, makes sense. Palm off all the weird looking ones on the family that eat anything,” Gladiolus laughed through a mouthful of pastry. Coming from anyone else, Ignis would despair for their bad manners, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to find fault in anything that Gladiolus did.

Even when he insisted on using that _stupid_ nickname.

“Yes, well that wasn’t _quite_ all,” Ignis said, licking his suddenly dry lips. Did he imagine the way that Gladiolus' eyes flicked down to watch his tongue peek out? He couldn’t say for sure.

“Oh?” Gladiolus asked, taking another bite. There was a tiny piece of pastry sitting on his full bottom lip, and Ignis swallowed hard as he was hit by the urge to lick _Gladiolus'_ lips as well.

The words refused to come when he opened his mouth, Ignis suddenly convinced that he’d misread the subtle signs that indicated towards Gladiolus being a man who was interested in other men. Thankfully, his rational brain regained control before he spent too long staring at Gladiolus with his mouth hanging open, and Ignis summoned up every piece of nerve he could find.

“I was wondering if you might like to go in a date. With me.”

The following silence had Ignis twitching, his brain screaming that he’d misread Gladiolus completely, until Gladiolus inhaled sharply, opened his mouth-

And started to cough frantically.

Dropping his half-eaten pastry on the counter, Gladiolus pounded on his chest with one hand, using the other to wave off Ignis’ half-formed attempt to step forward and help. Spinning on his heel, Gladiolus bent over the counter to fumble around for the bottle of water he kept underneath it, and Ignis would have appreciated the view far more if Gladiolus hadn’t been actively choking.

Still, when he stood upright and chugged from the large bottle, Ignis noticed the way Gladiolus' throat moved as he swallowed, and he let it slightly distract him from the feeling of rejection that was settling over him.

“Fuck me,” Gladiolus finally muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and tossing the bottle onto the counter before picking up his pastry again. As much as Ignis wanted to take Gladiolus up on that offer, he fought back the urge to make a smart comment. Judging from the fact that Gladiolus had _started choking_ after Ignis had asked him out, he didn’t exactly think that Gladiolus would appreciate the joke.

“I should get back to work,” Ignis said instead, giving an awkward half-wave while he turned around and took a step towards the door. He jolted when a big, warm hand wrapped around his bicep, Gladiolus' firm hold stopping him in his tracks.

“Whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re going?” Gladiolus asked, tugging on Ignis’ arm until he relented and turned around. “You can’t just drop that on a guy and then _leave.”_

“Yes, well, I didn’t exactly take you nearly dying as a positive answer,” Ignis said, trying not to fiddle with the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt. Gladiolus was still looking at him with a vaguely perplexed expression, and Ignis would have rather been literally anywhere else in that moment.

“You surprised me, is all. I didn’t know you were...y’know.”

“Gay?” Ignis asked with an arched eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest and immediately feeling more defensive than he would have liked. “It’s not what I tend to lead a conversation with, but I’m reliably informed that I’m not exactly subtle about it.”

“Well, now that you _mention_ it,” Gladiolus said with a sheepish grin, scratching a little at his hair. “I’ve been wrong so many times that I’ve kinda stopped trusting my own judgement on it.”

“You spend a lot of time wondering if people are gay?” Ignis said, his posture relaxing a little. Gladiolus didn’t seem to be reacting _badly_ and so Ignis wasn’t going to be the combative one.

“Only the hot ones, but like I said, I tend to strike out more often than not. So it’s always nice when the hot ones come to me first,” Gladiolus grinned, his eyes trailing down Ignis’ body. “Especially when they try to bribe me with pastries.”

“They weren’t a _bribe_ ,” Ignis said. They were an excuse, not a bribe, but he didn’t feel the need to expound upon his point.

“Never said it was a bad thing,” Gladiolus said, wiggling the pastry he still had in the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Ignis’ arm. His thumb was now gently stroking Ignis’ bicep, and the rejected feeling in the pit of Ignis’ stomach was slowly being replaced by something that felt like hope.

“What did you have in mind, anyway?”

Blinking a little stupidly, Ignis rifled through his suddenly blank brain, wondering what had happened to his careful preparation. “I thought maybe, ah, dinner?”

“Sounds perfect,” Gladiolus said, and his grin was warm and brighter than the colourful flowers surrounding them. “Does tomorrow night work for you?”

“Seven?” Ignis asked, his heart pounding when Gladiolus squeezed his arm a little and nodded.

“You’ve got my number, text me the address whenever you get a chance.”

“Of course,” Ignis said faintly, a little shocked that _weeks_ of worrying had been resolved so quickly- and so clearly in his favour. Gladiolus was continuing to smile indulgently at him, and Ignis was lost in it until his phone began to vibrate in his pocket.

No doubt it was Prompto getting irritated at having to run the bakery by himself, and Ignis finally managed to tear himself away from Gladiolus' pleasantly intense eyes. “I’m sorry, I have to-”

“Shit, right,” Gladiolus laughed, gently squeezing Ignis’ arm once more before dropping his hand. Ignis missed it almost immediately, but he couldn’t exactly ask Gladiolus to put it back. “We’re supposed to be working. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Ignis said, and the sincerity behind it surprised even him.

“One more thing,” Gladiolus said, and he held up a finger to silently ask Ignis to wait. Watching curiously, Ignis’ eyes widened when Gladiolus whirled back around, holding out what he thought was a single carnation.

“Thank you,” Ignis said, accepting the flower and holding it like it was utterly precious. Gladiolus looked vaguely embarrassed, but he covered it up with a loud laugh.

“It’s not exactly an even trade for what you brought over to us, but I promise I’ll pull together something real good for you tomorrow night, okay? Now go, before your little blondie burns the place down.”

“Sadly, a genuine fear of mine,” Ignis sighed, although he meant it with absolute fondness. With one more smile at Gladiolus, he murmured his reluctant goodbye and left the store, still clutching the flower to his chest. Iris was still standing outside, although she’d given up the pretence of work and seemed to mostly be enjoying the sunshine; she waved a cheerful goodbye when Ignis stepped through the door, and Ignis wondered if she could see the new energy running through him.

At the very least, he certainly _felt_ like he was walking on air.

**Author's Note:**

> [Visit me on Tumblr!](http://socialdegenerate.tumblr.com)


End file.
